Live as if You Were Sacked Already

One of my Platinum Coaching clients – I’ll call her Sylvia – lives in the U.K.

The shrinky behavior (or rather, “behaviour”) of the fear-addicted main stream has affected the company she works for, and she was informed recently that several members of her team have been “sacked” or “made redundant.”

Apparently, there are more sackings on the way.

Sylvia’s co-workers are walking around as if the sky were going to fall. Fear, anxiety and much drama are taking over the office environment.

Sylvia has been working with me for a while, and she knows that drama and fear are unproductive. Last fall, Sylvia had begun to explore the idea of starting her own business. So, the advice I gave her about her office situation has empowered her and helped her create a whole new mindset:

Live as if you were sacked already.

Or, translated to American English:

Live as if you were fired already.

Sylvia has made a list of things to do in order to get her business up and running and to find her ideal residence. One by one, she is tackling items on this list on her “mandatory” day off. (Compliments of her managers.) She is letting go of excess “stuff” in her life by visiting her storage unit and making items “redundant.” She is watching her mindset with keen awareness, knowing that her thoughts have a powerful effect on her emotions and outcomes.

The result is amazing.

In an environment where she is expected to chew on her nails and worry about the inevitability of loss, Sylvia is waking up with energy and renewed purpose. She shows up for work and does her job – but she is taking her power back. If she does get sacked, she knows there will be challenges – but she is teaching herself that they are manageable and that she has the power to create new outcomes.

I got an email from her yesterday. After listing each item she had accomplished, she had this to say:

“This is freaking amazing! I’m happier and more excited now than I’ve been for years – yet all around me (every company I work in) are sacking people and making them redundant!!! What is going on!? It’s Crazy and Wow at the same time!”

What’s going on is this:

When you take your power back and stop being scared of what others (or the economy, or politics, or your mean ex-girlfriend) can DO TO YOU, you step into the true reality where you get to decide each day how to create your life.

I know in my experience that my biggest thunk on the head (professional slap-in-the-face at my old “other” job) was my biggest spur to get me off of the safe plateau I was on and move on to my real life adventure.

I think I’m better now at seeing bumps in the road more as red flags to make me re chart my course instead of roadblocks. The fact I’m reading this now makes so much sense why a schedule change has happened for me. Thanks for the reminder!!

Great advice! I am grateful everyday for the work I have on my plate at work. We were told a few months ago that we were taking on new accounts from another division and instead of dreading the extra work (as some did) I said “great!”…now I’m so busy the days are flying by and I can barely keep up. My gratitude is flowing for the work I do AND it’s work that I love as well!!! :o)

Great post, as always. Having been sacked a couple times in recent years, it feels natural to start wondering about things at my company which has laid off a few people. I do spend a decent amount of time worrying about “the future.” But your post reminds me that I need to take my power back and take care of myself and not worry about things I cannot control.

Seriously, I’ve actually been a lot happier since I lost my job, even though we have the usual sorts of worries around making ends meet. Yes, I’m job hunting, and no, I’m not finding much available out there. I haven’t come up with the next great business idea, and I have absolutely no idea what I would do if I changed direction. But I’m able to put more time into my writing and performing, and we’ve had 2 gigs drop into our laps in the last couple of weeks, so life is actually pretty good. A paycheck would be nice, but I’m not freaked out about it not being there.

Wow – rather timely for us here as well. They quietly “sacked” a bunch people one by one this week at our company as part of a huge north American restructuring. Managers scheduled meetings with every employee to tell them if they were getting their 30-day notice or not. I did not lose my job but it sure makes you think as you wait for that phone call and hear from others who didn’t fare so well. In the meantime, my husband (retired for two years from this same company) is in the process of launching a great new career in food and wine writing and tourism. I’ve been so jealous watching how much fun he’s having, how excited he is about it. The thinking time – and this timely post – made me realize how I could help him get launched and be successful while at the same time participating in it creating my own next career. It’s exhilarating and renewing my spirit – enhancing how I approach to my “day job” which is less than exciting right now in this dismal economy. So thank you once again for hitting the preverbial nail on the head with your posts.

stacey – i went to see the live your best life oprah event a few years ago (with cheryl richardson) – and it was one of those life-changing things. And i couldn’t describe how amazing it was to my friends!

About 5 years ago I went to an Oprah “Live Your Best Life” weekend and someone told Oprah about how her niece had been to one of her events and a week later was fired. Her niece, remembering Oprah’s wisdom, said “Thank you.” She didn’t know where the gift was in the firing, but she *knew* there was one. And she went on to find much more fulfilling and lucrative work – which she never would have found if she hadn’t been fired. Oprah loved this story, of course, and asked one of her assistants to get the name and number of the niece so she could personally call and congratulate her. Ever since then I have enjoyed the idea of saying thank you to any unexpected/unwished for event. Just because you don’t know what’s inside the wrapped present, doesn’t mean you don’t enjoy anticipating what’s inside, right?

This is an awesome article! What has truly resonated with me is your statement about “taking your power back”. It’s such a testament to what is going on in
“Sylvia’s” life that she can maintain that well being thru all that is going on around her. Wow!

Great advice Christine. One should always be in a situation (physically and mentally) to be able to take a hit (getting laid off at work, being dumped etc). I know that it wouldn’t be the end of me or the world if I were to be sacked. (why are there so many words for this term?). It would just mean that I had to reconsider, look down other roads, maybe find something better. But it would be my experience and one should always try to learn from whatever experience. I believe that everything happens for a reason, especially the bad.
Oh and: Sylvia will be mad at you for using her name again 🙂

Beneath the happy jingles, the approval, and the understanding of friends, family, and society, something ran deep within me whispering, “Everything is not OK.”

I opened the door and welcomed it in.

“What do you want?” I said.

It told me some things and pointed me in some vague directions, telling me to take these roads.

“If I do this, what will I get in return?” I said.

It replied, “Everything will be OK.”

That’s the feeling of breaking away from a pre-set conventional path. The feeling of choosing to walk without a map, but with the help of an inner compass. It requires making decisions that feel like the only option in your heart. Like you wouldn’t do it any other way. This is how everything feels OK.

thank you thank you thank you! I want to see everyone living the lives THEY choose from their wildest dreams.

Last week, it was hard to keep from being overwhelmed by the fear and negativity all around. But, Barack Obama’s inaugural address Tuesday reminded me that where there is struggle and hardship, there is also the opportunity to grow and shine. It’s one thing to make something of yourself when times are easy and something else entirely when times are tough. The possibility for something transcendent to happen in each of our lives is much greater now, I think. It’s impossible to follow the same old rules that got us the same old results now. We’re forced to be creative and to reach out to others.

My word for 2009 is “grow” and this is the perfect environment for that to happen. I have to let go of old ways of being and stretch into new behaviors and attitudes.

So happy that I found you, just yesterday while searching for inspiration on line as I sometimes do. I was browsing yoga blogs and found you through your interview with BlissChick. I too am a singer songwriter and a student of the Artist’s Way. I have been feeling in a rut and gotten away from my morning pages. Surfing through your blog site renewed my intention and I got up this morning and wrote my 3 pages of long hand! Wow, did that feel good! And now I have something to add to my list of synchronicity this week— finding you when I most needed to. Thanks

Thanks Y’all! (Julie – being “made redundant” is my favorite englishism. It’s so very british, you know? Rather than “laid off” – you are simply “redundant.” So much more dainty!)

I think one of the gifts of being an artist or entrepreneur is that you are literally ALWAYS sacked. 🙂 You don’t have a choice but to continue moving forward and creating more work, products, movement. For a long time, I resented this fact. But then I really began to understand that it’s a hugely empowering process. I try to coach my clients from that space too, and teach them about the deep sense of security that happens when you absolutely trust yourself to keep moving forward.

“When you take your power back and stop being scared of what others (or the economy, or politics, or your mean ex-girlfriend) can DO TO YOU, you step into the true reality where you get to decide each day how to create your life.”

That is my favorite part. How POWERFUL! That will be my quote in my writer’s notebook by the end of today! Christine, thanks for all of your inspiration!

Thank you for this, there is such a tendancy to worry and this IS so counter productive. I’m reading this on a very wet windy morning in England, and must tell you that you really did bring a smile to my face ‘translating our englishisms’. Have a great day all.